I’m up at first light. It’s cold and looks to be a nice day with the sun out again.

It’s quiet now as I eat breakfast. Only the resident red squirrel to keep me company. I invite him over but he just chatters at me from a nearby tree.

A “con” of going solo is the lack of camaraderie, especially during mealtime around the kitchen. I do miss that. “A large flock of Canadian geese fly directly overhead making a racket. Their "V" is almost perfect.”

I listen to my weather radio and the current temp is 32 degrees in Ely. I slept fairly warm with lots of clothes on including hat and gloves. My down bag is rated at 10 degrees. Having the tarp down low to the ground and both doors closed helped too. There was no wind last night. The forecast looks great for the rest of my trip with no rain and steadily rising temps into the mid 60‘s and 70‘s. This is great news.

After breakfast I take the dishes, toothpaste and brush, and a roll of toilet paper way back in the woods about 40 yards from camp. In Quetico there are no latrines and you have to bury all human and food waste. I find a suitable spot (hopefully not used before) and dig a 10 inch deep hole with a plastic trowel. Using biodegradable soap I do the dishes and rinse them in the hole. I then brush my teeth and rinse into the hole. To complete the trifecta… well, you know. It all gets covered up and twigs and leaves put on top. I usually try to mark the spot by sticking a small branch in the ground.

One thing I love about doing the dishes is the smell of the earth when digging the hole. It’s some of the best dirt out there and would cost a fortune back home. I love that earthy smell.

Now it’s time to fish. I load the boat with my food container which is a smell proof Vittles Vault from pet smart. I used to hang my food pack from a tree at night but I found it’s easier to just stash this hard case far in the woods hidden in a bush at night to keep the bears from finding it.

I also bring my rain suit and shove off to explore the lake.

It’s 9:30 and I start by trolling north along the east shore of the islands with a deep diving crank bait. In the name of going light I left my depth finder home for this trip and it’s hard to judge the lake depth. Soon I get hung up in rocks and can’t free the lure. I tie on another $10 lure and try again. Not too soon after and I lose another lure. Rats!

I tie on another crank bait that doesn’t go as deep. As I reach the northern tip of the islands my rod doubles over and soon after I set the hook a large fish breaks the surface maybe 45 yards in back of the boat. This fish is a fighter. I know it’s a smallmoth bass because of how quickly it jumped and tried to throw the lure. It comes completely out of the water maybe 5 or 6 times more and makes several runs to the bottom with my drag singing.

I work him near the boat and grab its lower jaw. “What a beauty. These wild fish are strong. It’s built almost to the shape of a football. I quickly measure him and take its picture then return it to the water. He's strong and splashes me with his powerful tail.”

The picture doesn’t do this fish justice. It measured 18 and ½ inches and was thick and very healthy. Soon after this I catch a 14 inch walleye that I decide to keep. I head to the northern shore and find a perfect flat rock where I filet the fish and put the filets in a ziplock in a cloth cooler.

I continue on into a small bay and lose a few smallmouth when they are able to throw the barbless hook. In quetico there is no live bait allowed and no barbs on your hooks. I was very lucky to land that big one. Going down the western shore I spot a campsite and pull over for some lunch. I break out the P & J along with trail mix, ice tea, and cookies.

The site is just a very old fire ring. No real place to set up a tent here. As I rest I watch a loon family out fishing. It’s 2 adults and a brownish youngster. They dive and surface together. It’s fun to watch as an adult will swim over and give the young one a fish.

Continuing on I go into the Darky River. It’s beautiful in here and I see a vertical rock face that looks perfect for pictographs (native rock paintings) but I don’t find any. Around a shallow bend I hook a small bass. “Boy is he aggressive. He tail walks about 5 feet across the water before flinging out the lure. He won THAT battle! It’s interesting but the water is so clear that I see other smallies following the one that is hooked.”

Soon I land one of these and decide to complete my dinner by keeping him. I filet it up on a rock and put it in the cooler. I lose a few more fish on the way back to camp.

“As I come into Burt Lake towards my camp I see something very cool. At least 10 loons (I counted) were tightly grouped and would dive down together then surface in the same area a little bit away. They moved towards shore until one time they all surfaced only 20 yards offshore and there was a lot of splashing on the surface. It appeared that they were herding baitfish.

It was quite the sight to see them all splashing around chasing fish. There was also one seagull hanging around with them probably looking for leftovers. He would occasionally swoop down and touch the water. It’s amazing to me how they know how to coordinate this. How did they all meet here? I don’t think they have email or a twitter account.” This sight was something I never knew happened. Almost like what wolves will do when they hunt.

*In 2009 me and my son saw a pack of 12 loons together on Sagus Lake in the BW. However, those loons weren't fishing at the time and were just hanging out. On the big screen I also counted 12 in this video.

I head back to camp and park the canoe.

Someone has kindly left me a pile of wood by the fireplace (PineKnot?) so I start a bed of coals going for the fish. I put the filets in foil and put on some olive oil. I season the walleye with lemon pepper and the smallie with Montreal Steak seasoning. I got a tip from my seafood lady at the local grocery to try this. I burn the coals down and then using my grate put the foil packs right above the coals for 3 minutes on each side. Don’t want to overcook them.

The fish and lemonade is perfect. I really enjoy the smallie with the Montral Steak seasoning. BTW, I use a new "steri pen" to disinfect my drinking water. I bought it just for this trip and I highly recommend its convenience. The water on all these lakes has tasted so good it’s almost like drinking bottled water.

After clean up I go for a skinny dip to clean up myself. I then do the laundry, basically just giving my clothes a good rinsing out in the lake and hanging to dry.

“Tomorrow I’ll be clean again. It’s gorgeous right now. I’m sitting in my sling chair on top of the high rock at the front of the site. Fantastic view of both sunrise and sunset from here. No clouds and very little wind. No bugs either. About an hour till sunset.”

With the sun out and low in the sky it cast a beautiful light on my site. I got out my camera and walked around to see what I could shoot.

An end to a great day in canoe country. The day off from portaging has helped me to feel strong again. I retire to the hammock at dark to listen to Chicago sports radio on the AM band and catch up on the White Sox.

Part 2 coming soon and will feature the bushwhack, close wildlife encounters, and a view of the Pagami Creek fire.